Day 26
The first time we visited the farm, we noticed the outside yard was scattered with all sorts of farm treasure. Tractors. Trailers. Scrap metal. Based on the vegetation surrounding it and even growing in it, we figured many of these treasures hadn't been used in quite some time. We also figured many more treasures might be hidden. Of course, when we decided to move forward with the property acquisition, we assumed that many of these treasures would move with the owner. During the process, he did encourage us to look through some of the items in an attempt to sell them to us. We politely declined. Many, many treasures were still all around the property just hours before closing. Even though the family pulled together and cleaned and cleared as much as possible, treasures remained when we took over. Rusty scaffolding. A riding lawn mower with a missing tire. An antique grain scale. An engine-less snowblower. Random wood pieces, in various stages of decay. Plus lots of other things not even worth describing. We began a metal scrap and trash pile destined for the dumpster in the future.
Every time we went outside, we found more to add.
Ever pulled a loose thread on a sweater? Exploring our new farm kind of felt like that. If we found and removed one item, it just opened our eyes to a few more. This cycle repeated itself until the entire area behind the barn transformed into a pile of trash, I mean treasures. We were new to farm life, but we quickly figured out what the previous owner knew all too well. ”If you can’t sell it, use it, or trash it, burn it or bury it.”
In our early explorations, we found many things buried, either on purpose or unintentionally due to being left alone and overgrown with foliage. We found tarps, tires, fencing materials, metal, cinder blocks and enough windows to convince us a greenhouse may have existed on the property at some point.
In the hustle and bustle of making the yard as safe as we could for our curious kids, we realized the pile next door was practically gone.
But our neighbor wasn't.
